While actors and actresses are the ones with box office appeal, producer-director Ridley Scott regularly draws fans to the movieplexes to see his films.
But before there was The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and many others, there was Boy and Bicycle.
The black and white film was the first for Scott, who was born in England and grew up around the UK and Europe as the family followed his father’s career. It stars his brother Tony Scott and was shot by Ridley as he was studying at the Royal College of Art.
[Tony Scott went on to a successful career in film-making as well, including Top Gun, Spy Game and Unstoppable. He committed suicide in December 2012 by jumping off a bridge in San Pedro, California.]
In this story, the boy is playing hookey and riding his bicycle around Hartlepool, England. His voice-over tells what’s going in his head as he aimlessly pedals around. He rides to the shore, gets chased from an amusement park by a dog and pushes the bike across a sandy beach. Throughout, Ridley Scott shows the bike from every angle imaginable.
The film was shot in 1956, but not released until the mid-1960s. By then, Scott was working as a director for the BBC.
The short is included in a DVD edition of Scott’s first feature film, The Duellists. (Note: Reviewers at Amazon note that Boy and Bicycle is not included in the Blu-Ray edition of The Duellists.)
Surprisingly, the score for the finished project was penned by composer John Barry, responsible for the James Bond movie soundtracks, reports Christopher Campbell at Film School Rejects website.
Recent Comments